Opportunity Taken
by lenetra
Summary: Sequel to Opportunity Given Away. AU after Season 2 finale. After getting closer during their journey to defeat Klaus, Bonnie thinks she and Damon have a chance. When he rejects her, Elijah is more the willing to help her pick up the pieces.
1. Chapter 1

**Opportunity Taken**

This is the sequel to **Opportunity Given Away**. This will be a short fic, 3-5 chapters of mostly Bonnie/Elijah fluff. In this story season 3 (except for Klaus's family) of TVD doesn't exist. It picks up with the season 2 finale and goes AU from there. It is not necessary to read **Opportunity Given Away**, but if you want a little Bamon angst then you should read that before getting into this story. There will be a smidgen on Bamon in the first chapter but it will be all Blijah after that.

**Disclaimer: Don't own The Vampire Diaries, obviously, otherwise Bonnie would have a purpose other than saving Elena every other day.**

**Prologue: When Elijah Met Bonnie**

How? That was the question running through Elijah's mind when Stefan introduced him to Bonnie Bennett. "How is this slip of a girl going to save us from Klaus?" Indeed she was beautiful, but she didn't even look like she should be a senior in high school, let alone the heir to the Bennett power. As if sensing his doubts, Bonnie's eyes narrowed and with a slight flick of her wrist sent the Original flying backward into the bar in the Salvatore living room.

"Yeah, forgot to warn you, our little witch tends to be a bit feisty," Damon said, enjoying seeing Elijah caught off guard. He still hadn't forgotten that this "gentleman of honor" had terrorized Elena, not to mention the Original had tried to kill him. Seeing him getting knocked down a peg was the highlight of Damon's day.

"Well I could sense Elijah having some doubts about my power, so I felt a demonstration was in order. And you know all about my demonstrations, don't you Damon?" Bonnie asked, sending a small aneurysm to Damon.

"What the fuck was that, Judgy? I thought we were playing nice?" Damon said grabbing his head.

"Oh please, that wasn't even a fully powered one; it probably just felt like a little buzzing in your head. Stop being such a baby, you jackass," Bonnie retorted.

Elijah, having picked himself from the floor, walked over to the ever arguing duo. "Miss Bennett, I am sorry for underestimating your extraordinary abilities, please accept my humble apology," he said as he lifted her small hand to his lips. He couldn't help but notice the slightly elevated heat of Bonnie's skin; never had he felt such power just from touching a witch. She was indeed a worthy heir of the Bennett line.

Bonnie blushed slightly and let out a nervous giggle, "Please call me Bonnie and all is forgiven. I'm used to having to prove my power," she said sending a pointed glare in Damon's direction.

"Hey, I just simply point out some of your flaws, isn't that what friends do. Share the good and the bad with each other," Damon replied.

"I'll show you flaws-"

"Alright you two, back to your corners," Stefan said, stopping yet another Bonnie/Damon argument. "We need to get back to the plan to stop Klaus."

So they planned Klaus's demise, relying on a resurrection elixir, power drawn from dead witches, and Elijah's oath. As usual their carefully laid plan ended up being a giant cluster fuck, courtesy Tyler biting Damon, Katherine suggesting Jenna as a vampire sacrifice and Elijah not killing Klaus when he was supposed to. So they were stuck with Stefan working for Klaus in exchange for healing Damon, Elena guilt ridden for kissing Damon as Stefan was going through Hell, and Damon hiding his own guilt with a blood and alcohol binge (he left his victims alive though, he wasn't that out of it to realize Bonnie would stake him if he killed a person). And of course the cherry on top of this shit sundae was that in saving Jeremy, Bonnie brought Vicki and Anna back to life, further complicating her already complicated relationship with Jeremy.

The real blow came when Jeremy showed up on her doorstep, saying that he needed time to sort out his feeling for all three young women, because he loved them all. Bonnie called "bullshit" and slammed the door in his face. This lead to her two week binge on Doritos, Hagen Daaz chocolate ice cream, and Reese's Peanut Butter cups. She also became addicted to The Food Network, and had made just about every Paula Deen recipe known to man. Bonnie finally stopped feeling sorry for herself and poured all her energy into rescuing Stefan and killing Klaus. She also lit a fire under Damon's ass, literally, to get him to help her.

"Hey demon-spawn, I think I found something in one of Jonas Martin's old grimoires," Bonnie said, during one of her many study sessions with Damon at the Salvatore residence. "It's about Klaus's weaknesses, of which there are none listed. But it does say something about contacting Aiden Grey."

"Who the hell is Aiden Grey?" Damon questioned.

"No clue, but if Jonas wrote it in this section, maybe this Aiden knows something that could help us take care of our little vamp/were hybrid and get Stef back." So the two left in search of Aiden, leaving Alaric, Caroline and Tyler in charge of protecting the town and Jeremy with his two former lovers.

"You sure you want to leave Young Indy alone with the Brides of Dracula?" Damon asked as they loaded the car.

"Jeremy needs to make his decision without feeling guilty about hurting me. Time away from me will clear his head," the witch said solemnly.

"Sounds like you already think you're out of the running," Damon commented as he revved the engine of his Ferrari.

"I already know I am. Lucy said check with a Wiccan coven just outside of Pittsburgh, supposedly some of them have heard of or had dealings with this mysterious Aiden," Bonnie answered deliberately changing the subject from Jeremy. They rode in a comfortable silence for a few hours before Damon said, "For what it's worth, you're too damn good for cleaning up after baby Gilbert. You're not so hideous that you won't find someone else."

Bonnie shook her head in amusement and answered, "Thanks, I think."

Once at the coven, they found out that Aiden was an all-powerful warlock, who after working for Klaus, actually managed to escape him and was still alive, but in deep hiding. Knowing this was the best chance they had to destroy Klaus, they set out to find Aiden. Finally after months of going back and forth between Mystic Falls and all over the world, they tracked him down in Fiji. During the time they spent together, they became close friends, confiding in each other about the Gilbert siblings and their feelings for them. They also found out they had a more in common than at first glance. Such as a love for Bette Davis movies (who didn't love "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"), Ernest Hemingway (who Damon had shared more than a few drinks with) and a complete distain for the "Twilight" movie franchise (seriously could Kristen Stewart change her facial expression at least once).

When they arrived in Fiji, they found Aiden at a tourist shop that apparently he owned. As soon as they walked in, Aiden recognized them as supernaturals.

Bonnie walked up to the blonde, surfer –dude looking vampire and said "We don't want any trouble; in fact we think that what we need, can help you also."

"What is it you want, gorgeous?" he said winking at Bonnie, in spite of the growling Damon did in the background.

"We need information on any weaknesses Klaus may have," she answered him.

"Sorry, can't help you. The only thing I would be able to help you with is being able to find where he is. If I did that, I would have to use magic, which I haven't done in centuries".

"Centuries?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, Klaus turned me back in the 17th century, when I was attacked by a werewolf; I had worked for him for about 5 years at that time. I finally got tired of all the death and destruction, my breaking point was when he staked his own mother because she dared ask him not to kill anymore. If he could do that to his mother, what would he do to me if I ever questioned him? So I ran, and I've been running ever since. I can't do magic, because Klaus did a blood bond with me, and can trace me with it if I use my powers, so as much as I would love to help you destroy the bastard, I can't.

"There has to be something you know about Klaus that will help destroy him, I'm a Bennett witch, you can show me what you know about him and we can take him down," Bonnie pleaded.

"A Bennett witch, huh? Thought you guys had all died out. Look, there's only one person who knows Klaus's weaknesses, if he has any at all. You need to contact his brother Elijah, he's the one who helped me escape Klaus," Aiden told him.

"Well then we're screwed, because Elijah is back in Klaus's fold. He told him that his family hadn't been scattered in the oceans and that he would tell Elijah where they are. So basically Elijah is a no go," Damon said.

"Not true, I know Klaus better than anyone besides Elijah. Klaus didn't scatter the bodies and more than likely took Elijah to them, and then he staked him with an ash dagger. I can't believe Elijah was dumb enough to fall for that. Klaus's hasn't kept his word in years," Aiden spat.

"Wait, if Klaus staked Elijah, we could get him back," Bonnie said, noticing the look she got from Damon, she continued. "Remember when you staked Elijah and the Martins tried to remove the dagger, well I could do the same thing.

"Just one flaw with that, Judgy, we don't know where Klaus has stashed him," Damon reminded her.

"If I were a betting man, I would say Klaus kept Elijah as close to him as possible. He would have Elijah's coffin with him because of all that Elijah knows about him. Klaus is way too paranoid to have that coffin shipped were he couldn't make sure Elijah is still staked from time to time," Aiden said.

"Okay, but we still don't know exactly where Klaus is," Damon responded.

"No but we can find out," she said looking at Aiden. "You and Klaus are bonded, just like he can feel you when you do magic, you could probably tap into the bond and feel when he uses his supernatural abilities."

"Why didn't Klaus just trace him through his vampire ability?" Damon asked.

"Because vampire powers are harder to trace, even if you are bonded. Pure Wiccan magic draws its power from the elements, thus it always leaves traces in the air, which is what Klaus would use to track Aiden if he used his warlock powers. Aiden can trace Klaus because of the bond and because Klaus will be giving off even more power because of his were abilities," Bonnie explained.

"It would never work, Klaus would know the instant I accessed the bond," Aiden said.

"If I channeled your bond with Klaus through my powers, he wouldn't know. He would probably just think it was an added burst to his powers. The thing is, you're going to have to go back with us to Mystic Falls; it's the place where I'm the strongest."

"No, I'm already going to have to ditch this place and find somewhere else to lay low for a few decades," Aiden answered.

Damon flew in at the warlock/vampire hybrid in a rage, "Listen you bastard, this is my brother's life we're talking about. You're going back to Mystic Falls, even if I have to pump you full of vervain to do it."

"Fuck you," Aiden said, as he pushed Damon into a wall, causing plaster to rain down. "I may not be able to use my powers, but I'm still much older and stronger than you. You want a fight, and then bring in on."

Bonnie immobilized both men, "Look, we're wasting time. Our only hope is Elijah and the only way to get him is with your help Aiden. You are going to spend eternity on the run and sooner or later someone will rat you out to Klaus. And you said yourself you know how Klaus works, a swift death would not be on the agenda for you, he'll torture you for centuries and make your final moments as painful as possible. Now you can either come with us and try to stop him, or you can live in fear until Klaus eventually catches up to you."

Aiden did come with them back to Mystic Falls and met the rest of the group. They performed the spell the next day. Bonnie and Aiden channeled his link through her powers to ascertain that Klaus was in a town in West Virginia, about 4 hours away from Mystic Falls. She was also able to access a small part of Klaus's memory to see that Elijah's body was in a storage unit, not far from the house Klaus was using.

Bonnie then did the spell teleporting her invisible body to the warehouse. As she opened the coffin she was let out a breath when it did indeed reveal Elijah. Bonnie couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. Bonnie shook the thoughts from her mind as she remembered how he betrayed them. Hopefully, having been daggered by Klaus, would make the Original realize that his brother couldn't be trusted and needed to be killed, some kind of way. Bonnie took the dagger from his body and waited for him to revive himself.

Finally Elijah awoke and looked around finding no on in the room with him. He then spotted the dagger lying on the ground. He went to pick it up, when it was snatched up and Bonnie revealed herself.

"I should plunge this back into you. We trusted you, and because you went back on your word your brother is all powerful and can't be killed," Bonnie seethed at him.

"I know what I did, Bonnie. And I assure you I feel like a fool for ever trusting Klaus. However, I ask you to put yourself in my position. If you had a chance to see your grandmother again, would you trust the devil that was offering that chance?" Elijah asked.

Bonnie's hand faltered with the dagger. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her thoughts.

"Come to the boardinghouse. We have a warlock that used to work for Klaus that says you know him. Aiden Grey. We're giving you one more chance to help us destroy your brother, and I'm keeping the dagger so if you double cross us again, you'll be back in this coffin faster than you can run," Bonnie threatened.

To say Elijah was impressed by the fire in Bonnie's threat, was an understatement. He was also surprised and intrigued by the growth of her power. Not only did she find his brother, but she teleported her body and managed to stay invisible until she wanted to be seen.

"Believe me Bonnie; I want my brother stopped as much as you and your friends do. I also wish to atone for my betrayal of our prior agreement," Elijah responded.

"Whatever, look you need to get back to Mystic Falls before your brother realizes you've been undaggered, hopefully that will give us the element of surprise," Bonnie retorted. "I'll see you when you get back and if you think of going to Klaus, remember what I can do with this lovely dagger, without being seen."

Elijah smiled as he watched her disappear with the dagger. "Believe me Miss Bennett, I remember everything about you." He then opened the door to the warehouse and sped away.

Elijah made it back to Mystic Falls and the group carefully planned Stefan's rescue and Klaus's demise. Eventually with the help of several witches, werewolves, and even some humans, they were able to kill Klaus. Elijah undaggered the rest of his family when they were found and they were off living lives of their own. Rebekah was in Europe, Finn had reconnected with Sage and the two of them were living in Australia, and Kol took off to South America.

Esther, in complete awe of Bonnie, decided to stick around Mystic Falls and train the young, but powerful witch. But that wasn't the only reason Esther was interested in Bonnie Bennett, the young witch had put a look on Elijah's face that hadn't been there since that dreadful Katherine Pierce had wormed her way into his heart. As carefully as he maintained his mask of civility, his mother saw the looks he gave the Bennett witch. The looks that spoke of his attraction and desire. He also saw the protection he provided her. Never was she not guarded by Elijah's most trusted vampire followers, she nor her friends ever realized the close watch Elijah kept over her. When approached, Elijah swore it was only so Bonnie remained on the side of the Mikelson family, but a mother knows her son's true desire. She had thought she would have to resort to trickery, considering Bonnie's infatuation of Damon Salvatore, but the stupid vampire still fancied himself in love with Katerina's doppelganger. Esther almost felt sorry for the young fool who ran away when confronted with the choice of having a life with Bonnie or forever pining for Elena Gilbert. She really should thank Damon for breaking Bonnie's heart because her son would put it together again, and in doing so would gain the happiness he so deserved.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't watch Vampire Diaries anymore, let alone own it_

_Chapter 1: _

_Do You Got A First-Aid Kit Handy…. The One Before You Left Me So Damaged_

Bonnie walked up to door of the Salvatore Boardinghouse. It had been 2 days since she had issued an ultimatum to Damon: find her by midnight to begin a romantic relationship or they would just stay friends. She had waited up all night and he never showed up. She had been devastated. Once again she had put her heart on the line and it had been returned in pieces. First Jeremy had chosen an eternal life with Anna, now Damon had chosen an eternal life of pining over Elena.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Bonnie thought over and over. Just once she wanted someone to choose her. The only person to ever put her first was Grams and because of Bonnie begging her to get Stefan out of the tomb, Grams had died. To everybody else in her life, Bonnie was an afterthought, at least in her opinion. She knew her dad and her friends loved her, but when push came to shove, Bonnie felt that other things or people would always finish ahead of her.

So here she was standing at Damon's door. He hadn't returned any of her calls or texts from yesterday so she decided to come over. She would put aside her shattered heart and take friendship with Damon. He had become too important to her to put out of her life simply because he didn't feel the same for her as she did for him. Eventually she would begin to get over her feelings for him and put him firmly in the friend zone, much like she had Jeremy. Look at how that turned out. She could now hang out with Jeremy and Anna and not feel like her heart would explode. She and Anna had actually become good friends, when she and Jeremy had returned to Mystic Falls. If Bonnie could do that with them, she for sure could do it with Damon.

Using the key Damon had given her, she let herself in. An eerie silence greeted her when she walked in, and a feeling she stubbornly suppressed overtook her. She walked in and out of various rooms hoping against hope that she was wrong.

"Demon-spawn, where are you?" she yelled, voice quivering with emotion, as she walked up the stairs to Damon's bedroom to confirm what she already knew. She walked into the room to see a letter on his pillow, written in his surprisingly beautiful script, with her name on it. Tears she tried to suppress began to fall as she picked up the letter and began to read.

Dear Bonnie,

If you're reading you know that I have left town. I know I should be doing this in person but I can't bring myself to face you, knowing how you feel about me. I wish that could return the love I saw on your face, but I can't. And you deserve better than us trying to make it work as just friends. Sooner or later I would take advantage of all that you are offering me, your body, your love, your soul and give you nothing in return. I know how it feels to be the only giver in a relationship and I never want you to feel that way. You're too good for that and you deserve better that. One day when I find out that you have found someone who will love, protect and cherish you, I'll come back. I look forward to that day because when it happens I'll be able to be with my best friend again. Please don't cry over me, I'm not worth it. Don't be like me Bonnie, find someone worthy of your love and forget about how you feel about me.

I wish you all the best.

Damon

Bonnie curled in the bed and cried. She didn't know how long she stayed there, but eventually she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and glanced at the doorway as Elijah walked in. The Original sat on the side of the bed and said in a gentle voice:

"You've been missing all day. Caroline and my mother were extremely worried about you."

Bonnie ignored the statement and asked, "Did you know he was leaving?"

"He mentioned to me that he may be going away for a while, but I didn't know when and I didn't know he would not inform you or anyone else. When we couldn't get in touch with Damon to see if he had heard from you, Stefan called me and told me Damon said to look for you here," Elijah answered.

"Is he hiding out in Italy with them?" she asked, sitting up in the bed.

"No, Stefan said he got an email from Damon today saying that we should look for you here and to tell us that if we ever need him, to contact Stefan, as he will be the only one with Damon's new phone number and email address. Stefan said he doesn't know where Damon is," he answered.

Bonnie looked at Elijah and began to cry again, "I just want someone to love me. Is that too damn much to ask?"

Elijah gently stroked her cheek, "It will happen, my dear. You are much too precious for someone not to fall in love with."

Bonnie offered him sad smile as she composed herself and climbed to her feet. She tucked Damon's letter into her pocket and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm going to go home, tell Caroline and Esther I'll call them tomorrow," she said.

"May I offer a suggestion? I really don't believe you are in any condition to drive, I'll drive you home in your car and return for mine," Elijah said.

"I'm okay, I don't want to inconvience you-"

"You are not okay Bonnie. My mother would never forgive me if I let you drive yourself home in this condition; she is rather fond of you, in case you haven't noticed. And if anything were to happen to you, I shutter to think what Caroline would do with that ash dagger. So please spare me the lecture and torture I would go through and allow me to take you home," Elijah implored.

Bonnie relented and let Elijah drive her home. Bonnie in her own world of misery and self-doubt, never noticed the covert glances Elijah gave her. She was pulled out of her reverie when Elijah opened her car door. She looked up, surprised to see that the car had stopped in front of her home.

"Sorry to have been such lousy company," she apologized as he walked her to her door.

"Nonsense," Elijah answered. "I didn't expect sparkling conversation. Someone you care about has hurt you; you have every right to be upset. I just hope that you do believe what I told you earlier: You will find love eventually."

"Yeah, but what if I'm wrong again. This pain I keep feeling doesn't seem to be worth falling in love," Bonnie said.

"What's life without risks, my dear? What if the next time you fall in love, it is returned? Imagine the possibilities of that. Don't close your heart because Damon Salvatore was too much of a coward to take a risk on as sure a thing as your love and loyalty."

Bonnie gave a slight smile at Elijah's words. "Thanks, again for everything," she said as she slid her key in the door and slipped inside her home.

Elijah waited until he saw the light come on in Bonnie's bedroom to slip behind her house. He walked over to the vampire partially hidden in the wooded area behind the fence of the backyard. The vampire bowed slightly and was yanked by his throat and slammed into a tree.

"Why did I have to find out from Stefan Salvatore, who is an ocean away in Italy, where Bonnie was today?" Elijah demanded, not raising his voice one octave.

"I took a break to feed, she must have left during that time. I apologize, it won't happen again, I swear," the vampire answered. He would have felt better about his predicament had Elijah vamped out or railed against him, but Elijah was the master of control, which was worse.

"The next time you need a break, you find someone to cover for you. She is to be protected at all times. If you ever leave her without a guard again, you had better hope the reason is that you have been killed, because if it's not, I will make you wish for death. Is that understood?" Elijah said as he let the vampire slide down the tree.

"Yes, sir."

Elijah looked again at the house. Damon had given him a gift. He had been ready to abandon his thoughts about pursuing Bonnie when he saw the love for Damon in Bonnie's eyes. He had been through the love triangle drama with Niklaus with Tatia and again slightly with Katherine, he was in no mood to repeat it with Damon, especially when Bonnie was nothing like the Petrova women. No, Bonnie would never string them along like Tatia, Katherine and like Elena did with the Salvatore brothers. Bonnie would make a choice and Elijah knew the choice she would make. But Damon was too stupid to know what was in front of him and ran away. Now it was up to him to take advantage of Damon's idiocy and be the man to make Bonnie Bennett believe she the center of someone's world.

_*Chapter title taken from lyrics of the song __"Damaged"__ by Danity Kane_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the P.O.S known as The Vampire Diaries

**Chapter 2**

_**And I'll Kneel Down, Know My Ground….And Will I Wait**_

**6 Months Later**

If Caroline Forbes was anything, she was an optimist. Nothing, not her parents divorce, not her dad coming out of the closet, not becoming a vampire, not her mother trying to kill her (hey they made up eventually), not losing the two men she loved, not one of her best friends moving across the Atlantic, none of those things made her loose her eternally glass half-full view of life or afterlife. So when Damon left Bonnie with a broken heart and a shaky self -image, Caroline took it upon herself to make sure her other bestie did not sink into complete depression. This meant retail therapy, various beauty treatments and general man bashing. Eventually Bonnie started to come back to life and her spirit returned to form. Caroline then decided it was time for Bonnie to jump headlong into the dating ocean again.

"Caroline," Bonnie said. "I really…."

"Uh, uh. You promised Miss Bennett," Caroline said, pre-empting another protest from Bonnie. "You said you would go out with a guy I picked out for you."

"I know, Care. It's just that I've never been on a blind date before and I know I talked to him on the phone, but I'm just not sure I'm ready for dating."

Caroline shook her head, "Bon, I'm not asking you to run off to the Little Chapel of Love in Vegas with Charlie. He's just a good guy, who I think you would have a good time with. He's cute, single, straight, smart and human. Plus I'll be hanging around in the back of the restaurant if anything should go wrong, which it won't. I just want you to get back out there. This is the last step in getting over Damon. You've been turning down dates for months, but I'm not going to let you keep hiding. I know Damon and Jeremy hurt you, but if you allow it to keep you from going out and finding someone else you're not punishing them, you're only punishing yourself."

"I hate it when you make logical arguments," Bonnie mutters. "And just so you know, being human may not be a plus when it comes to dating someone in our freaky little circle of friends."

"Yea well, there's no full moon and you can sprinkle some vervain on his salad, so he should be okay for one night. Now come on before you're late meeting him," Caroline replied as she ushered Bonnie out of the door.

**Later that night**

Caroline sat at the restaurant bar basking in the glow of the success of Phase 1 of her plan (and having a self congratulatory drink, thank you very much). Bonnie and Charlie seemed to be hitting it off as she predicted. There had been laughing, touching and dancing between the two. She also knew that although Bonnie was having a good time with Charlie, he was not the one Bonnie would ultimately end up with. No, Bonnie's true love had just walked through the door with a blonde, vampire/warlock hybrid named Aiden and was currently shooting eye daggers as the helpless, unsuspecting human smiling at Bonnie. Looking at him, Caroline couldn't help but admit maybe Bonnie was right about humans joining their dysfunctional family. Charlie would have about as much of a chance against Elijah as Caroline did resisting a sale. Sighing as she finished off her Appletini, Caroline walked down the bar to do damage control.

Aiden looked up to see a cloud of bouncy blonde beauty coming toward him and Elijah. Caroline Forbes had been a mystery to him since their introduction. She appeared to be the typical vapid teenager, albeit a vapid vampire teenager. Upon getting to know her, Aiden found her to be bright, caring, loyal and had tad bit of an OCD problem. She could also be ruthless when protecting her friends, as evidenced by her complete thrashing of Damon's bedroom and cars when she found out he had left Bonnie brokenhearted. The only thing that saved Damon from a stake through his heart was the fact that he was nowhere to be found and Caroline was more concerned about Bonnie's well being than finding him.

"You know Elijah," Caroline said. "Even though you're an Original, lighting someone on fire with a mere look is still a power reserved for those of the witch branch of the supernatural."

"Hello Caroline," Elijah said smoothly, turning to look at her. "I was only trying ascertain if Bonnie was having a good time with her companion this evening. I had no idea she was seeing anyone at the moment."

Caroline couldn't contain the giggle that erupted from her. "Oh please, Elijah. You don't have to pretend that you have no interest in what happens in Bonnie's love life. I'm blonde, not stupid or blind."

"I'm sure, as usual, I have no clue what you mean," Elijah responded.

Aiden, ever aware of his surroundings and sensing where the conversation between Elijah and Caroline is leading, suggests they get a table in the area near the bar, hidden from Bonnie and Charlie, but still with a view of the couple. As they slide in and order a round of drinks, Caroline begins.

"Elijah, I may not know a lot about you, but I've seen you with Bonnie and you care about her much more than as an ally or friend. You're in love with her and have been since about the time she undaggered you. You never acted on it then because you knew how she felt about Damon."

"Caroline, you really have no idea-," Elijah said calmly.

"Let me finish before you either deny or try to defend yourself. Do you really think that your mother hasn't shared with me that Bonnie has vampire bodyguards watching her every move to keep her safe? Do you think Esther and I haven't discussed the looks of longing you give Bonnie when you think no one is paying attention? And do you really think no one has noticed how protective you've been of her since that asshole left? Because if you think that I'm telling you now, you are not as covert as you think you are. The only person oblivious to your feelings is Bonnie and that's only because she's avoiding thinking about anything involving romantic feelings but I think she ready to start dating again, that's the reason I set her up with Charlie."

Elijah's face remained impassive and had Caroline and Aiden not been vampires they would not have heard the slight growl in his throat. Caroline quickly spoke again to alleviate the Original's fear. "Not saying that I want her to end up with Charlie. I want her with you, of course."

A confused Elijah gave up all pretense of denying his feelings for Bonnie at that moment. "You set her up on a date because you want her to be with me. Pardon me if I don't follow your line of thinking."

"Yes please enlighten us to your endgame, Mademoiselle Forbes," Aiden said, smiling.

"Shut it, warpire," she says rolling her eyes at Aiden, and then addresses Elijah. "Bonnie needs to date a few guys before you declare your romantic feelings. If she even suspects you feel something for her, she'll shut you down faster than you can run across town. She needs that to realize how much she's already starting to fall for you." For once Caroline has satisfaction of seeing Elijah's face show emotion. For one brief moment, his face showed his surprise and elation at the witch's feelings for him. No sooner than she glimpsed it, the emotion was gone, replaced by his usual calm, unreadable demeanor.

"What makes you believe that Bonnie has any feelings for me other than friendship?" he asked, coolly.

"The way she talks about you, the way she depends on you, the way she tries to protect you as much as you try to protect her. She feels more for you than friendship, she just doesn't know it yet. I think it began the night you brought her home, but it just started manifesting in the last month or so now that she's over Damon. But she still needs time and space. She needs to recognize the feelings she has for you without pressure from you or running from her feelings because of her disasters with Jeremy and Damon. So I need you to hold on to that infamous control yours for a little while longer and not rip the throats out of the couple of college guys she's going to be dating for the next couple of months. I'll let you know when it's time to make your move. Believe me, she's worth every minute you wait for her." Caroline finished.

Elijah stared at Caroline for a long moment. "Are you sure what she feels for me is not just gratitude? One could very easily make that mistake."

"I've known Bonnie a long time Elijah. I've seen her fall in love twice in her young life and both times I recognized her feelings before she did. If I know anything its when Bonnie Bennett is falling in love with someone. I just need you to wait just a little bit longer and I swear both of you will have the ending you deserve."

"I deserve?" Elijah asks, quirking his eyebrow.

"Yea, I figure putting up with Klaus all those years and living without your family for centuries entitles you to a happily ever after. I know you did some things I don't want to know about but whatever they may have been, that's your past and you're no longer that vampire. You are my friend and I know underneath that calm, cool exterior you care about all of us and you take care of all us. I know I can count on you for anything Elijah and I know without a doubt you love Bonnie and would never, ever hurt her."

Aiden finally chimes in, "she's right you know. All those years of being loyal to Klaus, I know you feel some guilt about the things you did, I know I do. But you've more than paid your penance Elijah, you don't have to keep punishing yourself. You saved your family and the world when you killed Klaus. If Bonnie makes you happy, then I think you should grab hold of her and never let her go."

"Alright. We'll play this your way Caroline. But I warn you, if one of those hormone driven fraternity boys dares lay a hand on her, I believe the term is "all bets are off." Elijah responds.

"Oh, please. Like I would really set her up with some random frat guys. All of the guys have been meticulously chosen by me and put under compulsion not to try anything but a goodnight kiss."

All three vampires let out laughs at Caroline's response. For the first time in a very long time, Elijah realizes he has true friends and relishes the feelings that wash over him. As he looks over to Bonnie, conversing with Charlie, he recognizes the truth in Caroline's advice about waiting for Bonnie. And really what was a couple of weeks compared to the eternity they would eventually spend together.

_***Title Chapter taken from song **__**"I Will Wait"**__** by Mumford & Sons**_


End file.
